Ben Hogan BHM03 Review: Phantom-Style Mallet, $300 Less

A Scotty Cameron Phantom mallet will run you $549. Ben Hogan wants $249 for the BHM03 — less than half — and it's chasing a lot of the same things: high-MOI stability, a wingback profile, forgiveness on strikes that miss the middle.

So does it actually get there, or is $249 just what a mallet-shaped compromise costs?

Here's where it landed after some time in the bag.

We tested the BHM03 in Plumber's Neck configuration, 35 inches, with a SuperStroke Pistol GT Tour grip. It's a wingback, high-MOI mallet with the following specs:

• Head weight: 311 grams
• Face: CNC-milled
• Loft: 3°
• Lie: 70°
• Construction: 6061 aluminum body, 303 stainless steel face insert
• Neck options: Plumber's Neck (tested), Flow Neck (30g), Straight Shaft (39g)

The three neck options let you match the putter closer to your eye and stroke.

"Sleek looking and appears to be made of similar quality of materials I have seen across mallets."

That was our tester's first impression at address, and it's a good one for a putter at this price and coming from a player who is used to looking down at a Scotty Cameron. He's spent two years with a Phantom in the bag and many more before that with various other Scotty putters, so he knows what a well-made putter is supposed to look like. 

The sound held up too: pleasant, not dead, not tinny. But feel came up a little short. He reported that feel off the milled face was soft, so much so that he had to put more umph behind putts than he was used to. 

That's not necessarily a red flag. Some players prefer a softer feel, some prefer a firmer one. But it's worth knowing that the BHM03 didn’t transfer energy quite like the Phantom.

After our tester logged three rounds with the BHM03, he noted that distance control took some getting used to. However, once he adjusted, he reported that he could consistently control his speed.

The high-MOI promise held up, and our tester specifically noted that this was noticeable on longer putts. That's what the wingback design is built to do.

Alignment wasn’t quite as satisfying. He rated the ease of alignment just a 2 out of 5, specifically noting that on short putts he wanted more visual reference than the single alignment mark on the topline provides. 

It's worth noting that alignment isn't a customizable option on the BHM03 the way neck type, shaft, or grip are. The single topline mark is the only option.

Even with the alignment complaint, our tester said his confidence with the BHM03 was always good. He didn’t need an adjustment period to feel comfortable with it, nor did his confidence fade over time during his testing.

Since our tester's gamer is a Scotty Cameron 7.2 Phantom, the comparison came free, even though through some lenses, it’s not really a fair fight. The Phantom costs more than twice as much, after all.

His read? They’re similar putters, but they have their distinct differences. First of all, the BHM03 sounds softer, almost a thud by comparison, and needed more effort to cover the same distances. He also found the BHM03's curved sole didn't set up at address quite as naturally as his gamer.

But those details are unlikely to sway any buyer. The bottom line is, If you want a Phantom-style profile and high-MOI performance but can't get over a $549 price tag, the BHM03 is an easy alternative. It’s the same shape, offers the same stability, for $300 less. 

If you want the prestige of a Scotty Cameron, you’ve got to spend the extra money to scratch that itch. Not even a high-quality direct-to-consumer putter is going to put the same name-brand weight in your bag, regardless of how it performs.

At $249, our tester called the price spot-on for what you get relative to the market. He also singled out the stock grip — a SuperStroke Pistol GT Tour, not a generic rubber wrap — as a nice touch that other putters in this range don't always bother with.

He went out of his way to mention the headcover, too, praising quality material, a magnet that actually holds.